The field of the invention is sportswear and the invention relates more particularly to equipment used in the martial arts including karate. Protective shoes for use in karate are preferably open at the bottom so that the user will have a maximum amount of contact between his foot and the floor. The upper part of the shoe is made from a foam material or other shock absorbing substance. The shoe not only protects the wearer's feet from bruising but also reduces the possibility of injury to the other participant.
One widely used protective shoe is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,769,722 wherein the shoe is held to the wearer's foot by one or more straps which surround the foot and shoe. While such shoe is generally satisfactory, it has the disadvantage of occasionally causing injury when one or more of these straps comes loose. Another such shoe is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,493 which has several cross members along the bottom of the shoe. This decreases the contact between the wearer's foot and the floor.